Whangarei Town Basin — Attraction in North Island

Whangarei Town Basin is a credit the Whangarei District Council. We really enjoyed the Hātea Loop walkway between the Town Basin, Port Road and Riverside Drive. We walked from the basin along the river through Hihiaua Park and over the Kotuitui Whitinga footbridge, a rotating bridge over the Waiarohia Stream. It rotates one section to allow boats through. we then headed South and watched the Te Matau A Pohe bridge raise to allow a catamaran to travel downstream. After crossing the new bridge, we checked out the new Camera Obscura and read about the first cameras. This is well worth a visit. Following the path along Pohe Island Road and alongside Riverside Drive and across Victoria Bridge to complete the loop while checking out all the boats. We ate at many of the eateries in the Basin while we were in town, all were great. We visited some more than once. Alongside the Claphams national Clock Museum is the fairly new Rolling Ball Clock, well worth checking out. We also visited the Hundertwasser Art Centre, an extremely eclectic building. On the weekend we visited the markets in Putahi Park at the North end of the basin. All in all, the Town Basic in a lovely place to visit. The only downside is the parking, however it isn't too hard to find a spot a...

It’s the main centre of town by the water. A small and lovely basin where you can walk the Hatea Loop, enjoy meals at several cafes, a cocktail even, or roam the shops, eat ice cream and chocolates, and peruse a few souvenier shops. There’s a new well-equipped children’s playground near the fantastic timekeeping machine on display, as well as Clapham’s Clock Museum. You’ve also got the Hundertwasser Museum and Hihiaua Cultural Centre. There’s a water fountain area for the kids to play in and events are held there from...

Lovely for a stroll on a wide boardwalk, loved the timekeeping mechanism. Cafes were all nice. The art museum is well done although not sure why we have this huge ugly building about a single Vienese artist? I was stunned to find 4 small pieces by a Maori artist shown in a very large room. I felt it was a poor fill in, token display. The gift shop is hugely expensive and could do well to offer more trinket type gifts. I wanted a fridge magnet and key ring. Whangarei has the most toilets...